Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic review: Putting the smart into smartwatch

Samsung’s new smartwatch has an air of sophistication about it. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is an elegant smartwatch, the sort of wearable you can pop on without it looking like you frequent your local tech support desk on a regular basis.

Looks-wise, it’s more timepiece than gangly gadget, with a fantastic rotating bezel, a comfortable leather strap and a bevy of 'analog' watch faces to choose from. Under the traditional hood, though, it’s packed with smartwatch tech that may even turn the heads of the Garmin crowd.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 has been on Shortlist’s wrists for a while now — which means we are well within our rights to offer up the following wrist-icle. Here are 5 things to know about Samsung’s suave new smartwatch…

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Core specs and features

• Design: Elegant, timepiece-like aesthetic with a functional rotating bezel and comfortable leather strap.
• Screen: 1.34-inch Super AMOLED display (438 x 438 pixels) with Sapphire crystal protection.
• Processor: Exynos W1000 chip, with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage.
• Operating System: WearOS with Samsung's One UI skin, including Google Gemini.
• Health Tracking: Extensive features including sleep tracking (with snoring detection), blood pressure, ECG, accelerometer, barometer, bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, infrared, and geomagnetic sensors.
• Fitness Tracking: Automatic activity recognition, running assessment, and marathon plans.
• Battery Life: Typically lasts every other night with heavy use; up to three days on lighter days.

1. Design is for those who want a smarter smartwatch

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a great-looking watch. The rotating bezel isn’t a new feature in the market, but it is a fantastic one, offering a nice way to skip through all the myriad options this smartwatch has to offer.

There has been a bit of a design change, though, compared to previous models: the pure circular design has been ditched for a lozenge with a bezel on top, all made from stainless steel. This is something that Samsung had kept for its more expensive Ultra smartwatch but I am glad that this look has trickled down into the Classic variant but it will be a little Marmite for some.

The strap included with our review unit was the hybrid band which is made from faux leather and is incredibly comfortable.

This band is fit in a new way — it uses a ‘dynamic lug system’.... which was a bit too dynamic for me as it took a while to figure out just how to clip and unclip the band. Once mastered, it means that the band is solidly held in place and more comfortable, too.

The watch isn’t chunky on the wrist, either, measuring just: 46.0 x 46.4 x 10.6mm and weighing 63g. This isn’t heavy but you could certainly feel it when you walked around with it on.

The design is rounded off with an innovative crown, which Samsung calls a Quick Button.

2. Setup was simple (if you use a Samsung phone)

I initially tried to set up the Galaxy Watch 8 on a Nothing device and, for some reason, the phone wouldn’t let me download the necessary app I needed for the Watch 8 to work. Without this app, I couldn’t do anything with the watch.

Thankfully I had a Galaxy Z Fold 7 on hand and once I started the set up process on this, it was very simple. Everything is done through the dedicated app — which I like but again will polarise folks — and all I really had to do was wait a couple of minutes while the watch connected, updates were downloaded and everything synced together.

The only time I had to touch the watch was to confirm that the number code was the same on both devices. This reliance on the app does make things simple but when you have compatibility issues, like I did with the latest Nothing Phone, it may be a frustrating, closed experience for some.

From the app, you can also customise the watch faces. I would have liked a bit more choice, but what is there does look rather fine.

3. The screen is big on detail

The screen on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a 1.34-inch Super AMOLED (438 x 438 pixels) and this is protected by something called Sapphire crystal protection.

It’s a beautiful screen — although not the biggest Samsung offers — with more than enough real estate to swipe though the myriad options on offer.

It’s fantastically bright, too, so much that I was worried that I had upped the brightness by mistake. Using the screen to navigate was really easy, thanks to WearOS. Google has made its wearable operating system incredibly intuitive and Samsung has actually added to this, with its One UI skin on top.

When on a run and needing a quick glance, the display held up well but there is also the option to have the screen Always On, if you are paranoid you are going to miss something. This will drain the battery, though, so you do have to take that into consideration.

One other thing we would say about the screen is that it is a one-size fits all approach — the only option you get is the 1.34 inch one. If you want a bigger, 1.5-inch screen then you will have to opt for the original Watch 8. This isn’t a deal breaker but the bigger size was available on previous Classic ranges.

4. The Watch 8 tracks so many things

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is an absolute fiend when it comes to tracking. It’s got so many ways it can monitor your body that by the end of it I feared I would drown in data.

Having all these data points is nothing but a good thing, though, and Samsung has managed to make sure that the data that is delivered is clear and concise.

Included on the device is: sleep tracking (I snore, apparently, and don’t dream that much), bedtime guidance, blood pressure, there’s an ECG on board to measure heart rate.

This smartwatch has an accelerometer, barometer, a bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, infrared sensors, geomagnetic sensors — it knows and tracks so much.

Its fitness tracking and awareness of activities is superb — I didn’t have to preselect running or cross trainer when I started these, with the watch just knowing by the cadence of my actions and tracking accordingly.

If you are trying to get into running, then the running assessment feature on the Watch 8 is well worth your time. While seasoned runners may not get much out of it — although there is a marathon plan there — it’s couch to 5K plan was great and readjusted for our fitness well.

5. Battery, good; performance, better

Let’s save you time here: Samsung hasn’t changed the innards of its smartwatch. It still uses a Exynos W1000 chip, has 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This is fine — there’s nothing I did on the watch that experienced a slowdown of any kind.

This is a zippy experience and one Samsung has strengthened, thanks to tweaking the UI. A new Now Bar makes controlling media a lot simpler and tiles have been streamlined so you can find things quicker and not have to jump through myriad screens.

There’s also the inclusion of Google Gemini, this is the first time the AI overlord has made it to a smartwatch and using it veers more into Dick Tracy territory than ever before.

Battery life is great but not class leading. I found myself charging every other night when I was using the watch for fitness, music listening, and using the Always On Display. On slower days you could easily get three days out of the thing.

Oh, and the accompanying charger dock is easy to use and even harder to misuse — the amount of times I’ve thought I’ve been charging a smartwatch on rival pucks and the tiny charging pins haven’t aligned properly is countless. With the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9, this wasn’t an issue at all.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Final Verdict

Praise goes to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic for its sophisticated design. It resembles a traditional timepiece more than a gadget and this is nothing but a good thing.

It excels in fitness and health tracking, offering a vast array of data points and intuitive automatic activity recognition. Setup is straightforward (for Samsung users, at least — and the core audience here) and the 1.34-inch Super AMOLED screen is bright and detailed, though it's the only size option for this model.

If you own a Samsung phone, value a classic watch aesthetic over a purely sporty look, and want extensive health and fitness tracking capabilities with good performance and battery life, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a strong contender.